It may be the dead of summer, but cycling’s crown jewel has arrived with the 106th edition of the Tour de France. Founded in 1903, it is one of cycling’s three grand tours (Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España being the others).
The 23-day, 21-stage race, spanning 3,480 kilometers (2,162 miles) begins in Brussels, Belgium and finishes in Paris. The schedule consists of standard road races, individual time trials and team time trials.
Four-time champion Chris Froome will not be riding in this year’s event, leaving just two former winners in the race – his Ineos teammate Geraint Thomas, last year’s victor, and Bahrain-Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali.
The Tour de France features four iconic jerseys, with the most famous being the yellow jersey awarded to the cyclist after each stage with the fastest overall time dating back to the July 6 start. A polka-dot jersey is given to the fastest climber, a white jersey to the fastest cyclist under the age of 26 and a green jersey to the best time trialist.
Below is everything you need to know about the 2019 Tour de France including schedule, stage breakdown and how to watch the event. You can also keek track of the race with our standings, updated daily.
Tour de France 2019 schedule
The 21-stage race begins on July 6, and wraps up 23 days later on July 28. Riders are given just two rest days during the grueling 2,162-mile competition.
*All times Eastern
Tour de France TV channel, how to live stream
The first two stages of the race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, with the station showing delayed coverage and replays for the rest of the race until the final stage. The premium NBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass offers live, commercial-free coverage and replays of every stage for a $54.99 price. The Tour de France can also be streamed with fuboTV, which offers a free trial.
LIVE: Track the 2019 Tour de France race standings
Tour de France route map
Tour de France
What are the Tour de France stages?
Over the course of a little more than three weeks, riders will endure a grueling 2,162-mile course that includes seven mountain stages with five summit finishes, five hilly stages, seven flat stages and an individual and team time trial. 2019 marks the fifth time that Belgium has hosted the Grand Depart.
How many miles is the Tour de France?
The Tour de France stretches 2,162 miles. This is almost the exact distance between New York City and Salt Lake City, Utah. The longest stage of the race is the seventh, which is over 142 miles long. That would be similar to driving from Philadelphia to Washington D.C.
2019 Tour de France teams
Twenty-two teams will compete in this year’s Tour de France. Team Sky, who had last year’s winner Geraint Thomas, ended its sponsorship of a professional cycling team and was replaced by Team Ineos.
Tour de France past winners
Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain are all tied as the winningest Tour de France riders, with five titles each. Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France in 1903. Geraint Thomas is the defending champion and won three stages during last year’s race.
*Aberto Contador was the original winner, but later failed a drug test
**Floyd Landis was the original winner, but later failed a drug test
***All of Lance Armstrong’s titles have been vacated due to doping
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